Volkswagen Amarok Aventura Black Edition V6

What is it?

Although the Amarok was announced in 2009, it didn’t arrive in the UK until 2011, and by then it had already 'picked up' many awards (see what I did there?) including the 2010 International Pick-up of the Year. The plaudits continue as it was recently voted 2020 Pickup of the Year by What Car? magazine.

In 2016 the Amarok received a makeover, but, instead of focussing on how it looked, VW focussed on how it performed, and fitted their 3.0ltr V6 TDI engine. Unlike other manufacturers who are downsizing their engines, Volkswagen went bigger.

On road

With a 3.0ltr Tdi V6 that produces 258bhp and coupled to an 8-speed automatic 4MOTION gearbox, you can rightly assume that the Amarok has some potency, but what impressed me the most wasn’t its oomph, more its ahh.

Fortunately, the Amarok arrived a few days before total lockdown occurred which meant I was able to not only put a fair few miles on the clock, but get it dirty, too.

Ignore the fact that’s a pick-up, which is quite easy after you’ve driven it for any length of time, as the whole drivetrain and suspension gives you more of an SUV feeling.

There were times when I had to tap on the plastic, textured, hard wearing dashboard to remind myself that I was still driving a commercial vehicle. Then, just to make doubly sure, I glanced in the rear view mirror at the tail gate.

With permanent 4 wheel drive it offers you oodles of confidence around corners, no matter what the conditions, and the aforementioned 258 horses generate a huge grin as you power out of the corners. Ahem, or so I’m told!

If I have one gripe about the Amarok it’s that there’s an untimely lag after you’ve put your foot down hard on the accelerator, it takes a moment to wake up. That said, using the tiny flappy paddles attached to the steering wheel does give you more control.

The 8-speed automatic always finds the correct gear immediately, there’s no hunting, and even if it did struggle, with 580Nm of torque it really wouldn’t matter.

When throwing an unladen pickup around corners I would usually expect some sort of bounce or skipping, but the Amarok is built better than that, in fact you’re more likely to compare its handling and ride quality to that of a premium SUV, than a pickup. Volkswagen have put some effort into its ride and handling and they’ve succeeded, a pick-up has no right to be this much fun.

Off road

One thing’s for sure, when driving the Amarok off the beaten track you don’t have to worry about ground clearance, nor approach and departure angles, it has plenty.

Another thing that I didn’t have to worry about, due to its permanent 4Motion 4wd system, is losing traction. Despite not having a low box or rear locking diff (yes, you read that right), it does have Anti-Slip Regulation (ASR), Electronic Differential Lock (EDL) and Hill Start and Hill Decent Control. That lot means that it was just as capable as any other traditional pick-up on the rough stuff.

A few days after the Amarok arrived I took it along a testing little green-lane just outside Southport. I’d driven a few weeks prior in Deux Smurf and it was fine, a few over-grown bushes and a muddy rutted section, nothing overly difficult.

However, after driving the Amarok half way along, it transpired that a group of other 4x4 owners had recently driven it, and judging by the tyre tracks had large mud terrain tyres fitted, the type that are arguably only suited for P&P sites. Subsequently the ruts were a whole lot deeper and more challenging.

As I entered one of the ruts the Amarok suddenly lurched to the left as the nearside front wheel disappeared into a water filled hole, which took me by surprise.

What was more surprising was I glanced in the side mirror and the driver's side rear wheel was a good foot in the air!

“Hmm, what to do now?” I pondered.

I couldn’t get out of the Amarok as the bushes that line this single track lane would’ve damaged the new and shiny doors (so no photos, sorry). I could power forward, but that would be into the unknown and I didn’t want to cause any more damage to the lane, never mind the shiny new Amarok, so I decided that reversing the entire muddy lane was the best option.

With limited traction and at a peculiar angle, I must admit to feeling more than a tad apprehensive, and after selecting reverse I gently pressed the accelerator. For a moment the rear wheel spun helplessly in the air, then the 4 wheel drive system figured things out, and sent traction to where it was required. A few more revs were required to clean mud from the tread of the 255/50 R20 road biased tyres, and within no time traction was found and I headed backwards to relative safety - phew.

From there on, any reservations I had about the Amarok not having an actual low ratio gearbox was swiftly put to one side and forgotten about, it crawled everywhere I pointed it, both forward and reverse!

Interior

The seats are seriously comfortable and supportive, some of the best that my backside has had the privilege of sitting on.Then there’s dash layout which is easy to read and looks quite classy, with a car-like quality about it, albeit plastic.

When compared to its closest UK competitor, the X-Class, its interior might not be as classy, but the Amarok is by far more practical. You have plenty of space under the dash for your mobile phone, mints, chocolate bars, cups, keys and so on.

Space up front is ample for both driver and passenger with more than enough head and shoulder room. It’s a different story for folk in the rear, mind, as legroom is limited for the tallest amongst us, especially if you find yourself with a tall driver and front seat passenger.

With 6 speakers, Apple-Connect and DAB, the audio system was fantastic and produced a quality sound,.

With a huge amount of glass and large door mirrors there’s excellent all-round visibility which negates the need for parking sensors, which it has anyway. The turning circle is spot on too.

Loadspace and practicality

In the rear, the load bed is one of the largest of any double-cab pick-up available in the UK, it has a volume of 2.5 square metres. The double-cab UK model has one of the widest bodies around, and these dimensions pay off with a massive 1.22 metres between the rear wheel arches, and that’s enough to take a Europallet sideways. It’s able to carry in excess of 1 tonne and can tow a 3,000kg braked trailer, so customers can reclaim VAT if they’re registered.

Conclusion

What Volkswagen did with the Amarok is slot in a big V6 engine with plenty of power, mate it to a super-slick 8-speed auto and fettle its suspension, seriously, you can’t go wrong with that, can you?

Well, sadly the Amarok as we know it will soon be gone as Volkswagen decided that it’s had its day. Was the V6 simply too potent for the discerning pick-up buyer, was its £50k+ price tag too much, or was it simply time for a replacement? I think we can all read between the lines and blame the pending introduction of tough new emissions regulations due soon.

By the time you read this, production will have already stopped, but Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles UK said it plans to build up enough stock to satisfy demand right up until this point. With that in mind, and depending on how well VW has judged this, there may be bargains to be had as the deadline looms.

In years to come when second, and third-hand prices have fallen to a more affordable level, if I was on the search for another 4x4 in which to green-lane and take on adventures further afield, the V6 Amarok would undoubtably be on my radar.